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Uploading the subway will not help Toronto commuters

The Ontario government is planning to upload Toronto’s subway, claiming it will allow for the rapid expansion of better public transit across the GTHA, but that’s highly doubtful.

Why? Because Minister of Transportation Jeff Yurek’s emphasis on public-private partnerships and a market-driven approach suggests privatization is the cornerstone of the province’s plan.

Will dismembering the Toronto Transit Commission, fragmenting transit planning, and handing transit assets to private consortiums improve public transit? Not if you look at the lessons learned from Metrolinx.

The TTC is a public agency with an integrated transit network. Buses, streetcars, subways, and the Scarborough LRT connect with and complement each other. Riders pay one fare to use the entire network (except the express buses).

As a public agency, the TTC offers services that are not necessarily profitable. These include bus routes in less densely populated areas, night buses, and the Wheel-Trans service that offers residents with disabilities rides for the same fare as the conventional service.

In conjunction with the City of Toronto, the TTC also advances social policy goals: children 12 and under ride for free; seniors, students, and residents living on low-income pay discounted fares.

What do you think?

As a recent study shows, the TTC receives considerably less government funding than its North American counterparts: the TTC gets 90 cents in government funding per ride. Vancouver’s and Edmonton’s transit agencies receive twice as much. Chicago and Los Angeles transit agencies receive $2.37 U.S. and $4.12 U.S., respectively.

Want to improve public transit? That requires governments to fund it properly.

Instead, the Ontario government seems to be planning to grab the TTC’s most valuable assets and hand them over to private companies. That’s no recipe for success.

Take Metrolinx, for example. Though Metrolinx has been set up as a Crown corporation, it grants private consortiums rights over the construction, maintenance, and operation of transit projects — like GO Train and the UP Express.

The GO Train network charges fares by distance, a fare structure model that could have negative equity impacts in a city like Toronto, where living close to work is a luxury. Short GO trips are not affordable either. GO’s high base fares and the cost of transferring to the TTC make it an expensive option for travelling within Toronto.

A City of Toronto report estimated that Weston residents commuting downtown could save 25 hours per month by taking the GO train, if they can afford the price premium. But they cannot, as demonstrated by the small percentage of GO trips within city limits that start or end in low-income neighbourhoods.

Then there is the UP Express. It takes passengers from Union Station to Pearson airport, stopping at Bloor by Dundas West and the Weston GO station. Initially, Metrolinx and its private operator priced one-way trips at $27.50 but had to slash it to $12 ($9 on Presto) to attract customers.

Set fares as high as possible, see if it sticks. Is this what Minister Yurek means by a market-driven approach?

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The Bloor stop could serve as a westbound relief line if it wasn’t for the higher fares and the fact that UP Express and TTC services are not integrated. At the Weston stop, the pickup platform prioritizes Uber, not public transit buses.

Initially, the UP Express refused to offer discounts to airport employees. Metrolinx justified the decision by saying this isn’t a public transit service, but a service for business executives. Then the Greater Toronto Airports Authority offered a deal that changed Metrolinx’s mind — airport workers now get discounted tickets and passes.

Toronto has a public transit agency trying to provide seamless rides at reasonable fares for all. And it has public-private partnerships offering high-end services at premium prices.

The provincial government seems to think the latter is the future. Let’s hope Toronto City Council disagrees and decides to protect the city’s best and truly public transit.

Ricardo Tranjan is a senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Ontario office. Follow him on Twitter: @ricardo_tranjan.

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